the adventures of alyssa

Week 35 Bumpdate

It’s almost tiiiiiime! I have less than 4 weeks to go! (Assuming baby girl is on time, because come Nov. 13 she will receive a legally binding eviction notice!)

How far along? 35 + 3Baby’s Size: A large lop-earred rabbit or large bunch of carrots from leafy stems to carrot bottom.Weight Gain: I appear to be one of those people who doesn’t gain, doesn’t gain, doesn’t gain… and then BOOM! Weight gain! I’m going between 12-18 pounds gained at this point depending on time of day and how much I’ve been eating. Baby girl now packs on at least 1/2 pound per week. While the weight gain freaks me out, my OB has assured me it’s normal and she’s not concerned.Maternity clothes? The only thing I can wear!Best moment this week: I am now doing twice weekly non-stress tests as a precaution because I have what’s called white coat hypertension – when my blood pressure gets taken at the doctor, it’s always high. Even just 15-20 mins later it usually comes down substantially. However, because of my weight, PCOS, and the fact that I’m having low blood pressure episodes, I’m a higher risk for developing pre-eclampsia. Twice a week I go to Labor and Delivery to have babe’s heart rate and activity monitored and my BP. The first NST, I was a nervous wreck and my BP’s were predictably high. The second one on Thursday was awesome, because not only did my little girl prove her strength by kicking the monitor off my belly, but my blood pressures were picture perfect. That made me feel a lot more confident about hopefully making it through the remaining weeks of gestation a-okay. It’s also neat to talk to all the L&D nurses and get to know them, knowing that several of them will be helping bring baby girl into the world in just a few short weeks.

Feeling happy at Labor and Delivery with excellent blood pressures and a wiggly baby

Honorary mention to another best moment being my first chiropractic adjustment. I’ve been having pretty intense pelvic girdle pain (in your last few weeks of pregnancy, hormones loosen the joints of pelvis, hips, and groin), and a visit with a highly recommended on Yelp doc meant after several pops and cracks later, my pelvis, which had popped completely out of alignment (yuck), was back in, and I could walk like a 30-year-old instead of a 90-year-old. I go back this week and am so grateful there’s relief, because not being able to walk definitely sucks. Add it to the list of things pregnancy makes me grateful for: mobility.

Another honorary mention goes to a brunch my local coworkers took me to on Friday. I work with really incredible people, and it was so sweet of them to get together and shower me and baby girl with a little love. Since we all work remote we don’t get to see each other often, so when we do it’s always lots of fun catching up. With some other coworkers, they all pitched in on a giftcard which will be hugely helpful for us in the coming weeks. I was so lucky to be showered with so much love all around this pregnancy! Our baby girl has pretty much everything she needs, and we’re so grateful for that.

Miss anything?

Sleeping on my stomach. I’m not going to take this bullet point off this list ever.

Still going outside. The past few days have been record breaking heat for Southern California and yesterday clocked in at 104 degrees where I live. I’m not asking for much, weather gods, I just want to be able to take a walk without feeling like an egg melting on a Hibachi. We’re still expecting mid-90s to high 80s by the end of the week. I signed up for a Fall baby, not a hellacious heat Summer baby. Next pregnancy I’m moving to Antarctica.

Exercise. I can’t ride my Pedego anymore because of the pelvic joint pain (bummer), and the heat. I am looking forward to walking outside with the baby and once I’m cleared by doc, getting back into shape.

Movement: Some days she’s wild, some days she’s lazy.Food cravings: Grapes continue to be a thing, and this week, I craved vegetable tempura, street tacos, and apples. I want to eat all the things all the time! I also craved split pea soup which I made in the crockpot, and then I made Knedlicky and Zeli, which is a Czech dish of saurkraut, potatoes, dumplings, and pork. Deeeeeelish!Anything making you queasy or sick: No. It is glorious!Gender: Girl!Labor signs: Nope.Symptoms: Pelvic girdle pain, back pain, the waddle, and being hot. I’m actually sleeping pretty darn good.Happy or moody most of the time: Happy. I am feeling so much better than I did in my second trimester (again – weird….) And while the physical aches of the third tri are rough, I’m so excited to meet baby! However, I am getting sick of people’s comments about my size (I’m either “huge and ready to pop”, or “too small” for 9 months pregnant.) I don’t think it’s fair that at a time when a woman’s body is clearly changing drastically, it gives people a free pass to comment with all of their observations. Hint: Telling a woman she looks huge is NEVER a compliment.Looking forward to: Cooler weather, seeing my parents this weekend and hopefully doing maternity portraits (if it’s cool enough), continuing to check off the days until she’s here, and finishing our nursery. We’ve gotten so much done and now it’s the fun phase of decorative accents, which I love doing. I’ve been trolling TJ Maxx for treasures and hope to share photos in the next week or so.